The Bulls are entering yet another post-Jordan era after wrapping up and presenting Scott Skiles with a firing as his only Christmas present. Hey, at least you got something for Christmas, after you left us that lump of coal record. But anyways, after watching the Bulls under Jim Boylan, the changes in style and pace, along with rotation are clear, and their ultimate certainty is up for grabs.
For one, the biggest change is obviously that of moving former UConn Husky Ben Gordon back to the bench for the first time since his rookie year (in which he won 6th man of the year). His numbers have been flourishing, but the overall abandon for playcalling is in plain sight, especially in crunch time. If I had a nickel for every time he and Ben Wallace ran an uneffective screen roll last night, especially during crunch time, I'd have a shit load of nickels. Don't get me wrong, Gordon's ability to shoot the ball puts him in a class of his own, but the way Boylan has relied on him to make something out of nothing has been a big indicator of their record under his coaching reign.
I like Gordon coming off the bench, but with him on the floor the Bulls are too predictable, and give up a lot on the defensive end. With Gordon on the floor, it forces Ben Walnuts to be in the game, and thats not a trade off I'd like to have.
With back-to-back wins over Milwaukee and the NY Kinks, Boylan was starting to make some fans into believers... but when we finally faced an above par team in a slipping Orlando Magic, we were finally brought back to earth. The lost wasn't that bad though. I sat floor for that game, and was gitty with excitement as the Bulls were able to stop Hedo's drive to the basket for the win in regulation. The New Years Eve game gave close with Hedo hitting that 5 foot fall away at the end of OT. But I was still feeling Boylan, he gave it his all in front of his home crowd, and with a team that has looked like pure ass the whole season, I wasn't that upset after the loss.
Boylan followed up that tough home OT loss with a nice come from behind victory in Charlotte. Well, I take that back, it wasn't nice, anytime you have to come from behind to beat Charlotte... But a W is a W. It was nice to see Joakhim Noah being able to guard a versatile G/F in Gerald Wallace, and make some unthinkable passes.
That brought us to last nights prior mentioned Portland game, taking place at the house that Jordan built. This game, at least to me, really showed me a lack of coaching experience on Jim Boylans part. Sure we should give him time to adjust to the system, find a rotation, find a go-to play when the game is close, but having to rely on Joe Smith (10 ppg, 5 rpg, 20 mpg) to go off for 31 points and 11 rebs in 45 minutes... thats a little ridiculous.
But though I have bashed him a bit, I'm not ready to give up on Boylan yet. He has a nice rotation going, and will hopefully learn from his experiences, in his young coaching debut.
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